Improved boot-leg stiffener



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NATHANIEL GEAR, OF INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA.

MPROVED BOOT-LEG STIFFENER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,544, dated April 26,1864.

- State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful improvements inthe manner of stiffening bootlegs and preventing' them from wrinklingand chafing the ankles ofthe wearer,

while they are quite free' to conform to the bending of the leg inwalking; and I do here by declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the saine, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure lrepresents a boot with my improvement attached. Fig. 2 represents a sideView of one of the jointed stiit'eners for preventing the leg fromWrinkling, and Fig. 3 represents an edge view of the same.

I am aware that stift'euers for garments have been made, and that thebacks of boots have been supported by metal bars or pieces, and thatcloth tops for boots have been staid somewhat like cloth gaiters; butnone of these. stiifeners have been hinged or pivoted opposite to thejoints in the leg ofthe wearer, so that while they keep the boot fromwrinkling they shall not interfere with the free bending of the ankle orkneejoints inwalking or sitting.

My invention consists in the use of jointed.

stiiieners in bootlegs, so that while the bootleg shall be preventedfrom wrinkling and chating the wearer it may be free to bend at theankle or knee joint, and thus be perfectly comfortable and easy to theuser.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe the saine with'refereuce to the drawings.

The boot A may be made in any of the usual forms, whether ordinary inlength or top boots. A seam, B, is made down the sides of the boot, intowhich a jointed and steelspring bar, U, is slipped, and which may beunited to the boot solely by the rivet a., or by a screw, button, bolt,or any other fastening that will admit of the stiffener being removed orreplaced.

The stiftener O has a joint, b, at or near that portion of it that comesopposite the ankle of joint ot' the user.

the user, and one or more joints, c, at or near that portion of it thatis opposite the knee- These joints b c are so made as that they, as wellas the boot-leg, will freely bend or yield with the joints of the leg,but be quite rigid in a line transverseto the joints.Thelowerend,d,ofthestiffenerisslightly curved, so as to lit the naturalcurve of the foot and boot where the upper joins the sole near the front ofthe heel, and this lower end, d, need not be riveted or fastenedof necessity to anything, as it will rest against the upper and innerportion of the sole of the boot. It may, however, be fastened to theboot or to a strip of meta-i or other substance thateX- tends across tothe opposite side of the boot, and to which the stift'ener on theopposite side of the boot-leg may be fastened. The stiftl ener in tineboots may be between the lining and outside and entirely concealed, butin colrse boots, which have no linings, it may be connected to theinside by rivets or otherwise without injury to the wearer. Many waysotl uniting the stift'ener to the bootlegs may be devised-as, forinstance, the placing of the stift'ener in the rear of the boot-legbuthaving' shown one feasible plan, I need not describe others. I prefer tomake the bars of spring-steel, but other metal may be used, and it'designed for short boot-legs but onejoint, b, is necessary; butfortopboots, eX- tending above the knee, two or more joints arenecessary. Besides stiffening the legs of the boots, these metal stripsatt'ord great support to the ankles of the wearer.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The application of jointed metallic bars or stitt'euers to the legs ofboots, so as to keep them up and prevent them from wrinkling, while theyare free to coliform to the joints of the wearer, making them verycomfortable and easy and avoiding chatng of' the feet, substantially asdescribed.

NATHANIEL GEAR.

Vitnesses:

A. B. SroUGHToN, XAVER. FENDRICH.

